STOWE, Vermont ??” The third stop for the US Skiercross Series took place at Stowe Mountain, Vermont, for the Amstel Light Green Mountain Skiercross Classic. And classic it was, as high winds and snow continuously challenged visibility and course speed throughout the weekend. The weather didn’t stop tour athletes or local racers from competing for a piece of the $7,500 cash purse. The Amstel Light Green Mountain Skiercross Classic is presented by Sportsbook.com[/url], The North Face and Stowe Mountain Resort.

“It’s great to bring the Skiercross Series back to the East Coast where ski teams pump out some of the industries most elite athletes”, says Mountain Sports International’s CEO, Adam Comey. “Stowe had amazing snow to pull together the course and the venue was perfect for lots of turns and burms. It led to an interesting competition with a lot of passing. Stowe Mountain is an excellent partner for the Skiercross Series.”

The time trials for the event narrowed the field to 32 men ??“ 8 heats of 4. The top two men from each heat advanced to the next round. The top 5 men in the time trials; Eric Archer, Cody Smith, Nate Johansing, Ryan McCullough and Corley Howard, remained competitive throughout the each heat, continuously advancing and ultimately all finishing in the top five. Smith, from Spokane, WA, won his first title for the tour after a narrow miss at Snowbird, followed by McCullough (Crested Butte, CO) and Archer (Vail, CO) who took 2nd and 3rd respectively.

For the women, Anik Demers (Squaw Valley, CA) took her 3rd title for the US Skiercross Series. The women had some intense competition on the course drawing competitors from around the country and Canada. The Canadians were well represented on the podiums as they took 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Following Demers was Sara-Maude Boucher (Quebec) and Marie-Helene Giard (Lac Superieur). Brett Buckles (Steamboat Springs, CO) stood on the podium with a 4th place finish after a 2nd place finish at Snowbird.

Current top 10 standings for the Sportsbook.com[/url] US Skiercross Series for men are as follows: Archer (50), Shepherd (41), McCullough (32), Smith (25), Sul (20), Questad (20), Wittner (16), Glick (12), Johansing (12), Howard (11). Top 5 women for the Sportsbook.com[/url] standings are: Demers (75), Buckles (32), Jenkins (21), Dole (20) and Boucher (20). Series winners are in the running for the overall series cash purse of $7,500 up for grabs at the North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood in April.

The next stop in the US Skiercross Series is the Boyne Mountain Spring Skiercross Classic, in Boyne, MI. Check out www.skiercross.com to follow the action from this event with pictures and results and register for upcoming events.